realized that to charge such a superior force
on horseback was seldom feasible. His
alternative was to fight dismounted. One
subordinate described Hampton’s fighting
method: “He could dash his forces,
mounted, to favorable points with great
celerity, dismount and rush in, and if advis-
able, draw them out as quickly and hurl
them fiercely on some other weaker posi-
tion.” Hampton always brought the max-
imum force possible to the point of attack
or defense, turning his men into good,
hard-fighting infantry and at the same time
preserving their good qualities as cavalry.
Although his soldiers’ rate of fire using
muzzle-loading weapons was slower, it was
more accurate and longer-ranged, and
therefore caused more damage to the
enemy. The impact of his careful style of
generalship gave the men serving under
him unwavering confidence, and the disor-
ganized stampedes so common under Stu-
art were unknown under Hampton.
Hampton’s 1st Brigade was led by
Colonel Gilbert J. Wright. An attorney by
profession, Wright was a wounded combat
veteran of the Mexican War. He possessed
great courage and dogged determination
and proved to be a fine combat leader. Sec-
ond Brigade was commanded by Brig. Gen.
Thomas Rosser, a member of the West Point
Class of 1861. He had been an officer in the
Confederate cavalry since 1862 and was
esteemed as a good fighter. Brig. Gen.
Matthew C. Butler handled Hampton’s 3rd
Brigade. Butler was known for his courage
and calmness in the midst of combat, the
sort of leader who sat on his horse quietly
watching while shots and shells exploded
around him. Butler had lost his right foot a
year earlier at the Battle of Brandy Station,
but this did nothing to diminish his perfor-
mance as a cavalry officer.
Fitzhugh Lee was a graduate of the West
Point Class of 1856 and had fought in the
Regular Army against the Plains Indians
prior to the Civil War. The nephew of
Robert E. Lee, Fitz Lee was a competent
leader of mounted forces whose service
during the war swung between brilliant
and lackluster. His division included the 1st
Brigade under Brig. Gen. Williams C.Wickham, a Virginian lawyer, politician,
and planter. Wickham was ably assisted by
his senior colonel, Thomas Munford, a
graduate of the Virginia Military Academy.
Brig. Gen. Lunsford L. Lomax commanded
the 2nd Brigade. Lomax had attended West
Point and served on the frontier before the
Civil War; he was deemed a steady and
competent officer. Colonel Bradley T. John-
son’s 1st Maryland Cavalry Battalion,
along with the Baltimore Light Artillery
Company, an independent command, were
attached to Lomax’s unit. For artillery sup-
port, Hampton had the services of Major
Robert P. Chew’s four-battery Horse
Artillery Battalion. In all, Hampton com-
manded 6,400 men and 14 cannons.
Anticipating that the enemy’s targets
were the rail hubs and supply depots at
Gordonsville and Charlottesville, Hamp-
ton set his division in motion on June 9,
intending to get between Sheridan and his
goals. He directed Fitz Lee to follow as
soon as possible. Most of the Southern rid-
ers had no idea what sort of mission
Hampton had embarked on, but Sergeant
George M. Neese of Chew’s Horse Artillery
Battery spoke for many when he wrote in
his diary: “General Hampton with a good
force of cavalry is after the raiders in hot
pursuit, and when he strikes a warm trail
there is usually some blood left in the track
and some game bagged.”
Moving at a steady walk with hardly any
stops, Hampton’s force covered 30 miles
the first day. Meanwhile, Sheridan,
unaware he was being pursued, covered 24
miles along the route of the Virginia Cen-
tral Railroad north of the North Anna
River, leaving a trail of dead horses in his
wake. As the blue column moved on, its
rearguard and detached foraging parties
were constantly harassed by Rebel scouts.
On the 10th the chase continued with
Hampton’s horsemen reaching Fredericks
Hall Station. Lee’s troopers followed a few
miles behind. By 3 PMthe Southerners went
into camp at Louisa Court House on the
Virginia Central Railroad, just south of the
North Anna River. Rosser’s brigade settled
in several miles west of Louisa astride the
railroad and the direct route to Gor-donsville. Wright’s and Butler’s commands
were just east of Trevilian Station, Fitz Lee’s
division a half mile from Louisa on the Vir-
ginia Central. Hampton had accomplished
his first objective of interposing himself
between the enemy and Gordonsville, but
it had cost his command a large number of
horses. This translated into a significant
number of men who would not be present
for battle in the coming days. In addition,
a tactical problem remained for Hampton:
a four-mile gap between his and Lee’s posi-
tion, with the Marquis Road running
through the gap from Carpenter’s Ford on
the North Anna River to Louisa Court
House.
As the Confederates closed on Louisa
Court House, the Federals crossed to the
south bank of the North Anna at Carpen-
ter’s Ford, six miles northeast of Louisa. By
the end of the hot day, they went into
camp. Merritt was six miles north of Tre-
vilian Station, Devin five miles northeast,
and Custer four miles north of Louisa.
Gregg’s division was still marching and
strung out along the roads from Carpen-
ter’s Ford. The Union column had lost
another 500 horses. As darkness covered
his command, Sheridan was unaware that
Hampton was in his front and that Lee held
Louisa Court House.
Sheridan intended to capture Trevilian
Station the next day, cutting the Virginia
Central and the Lynchburg branch of the
Charlottesville rail line. Hampton
planned to launch an assault in the morn-
ing, using his division to drive the Feder-
als frontally while Lee flanked them. The
result would leave Sheridan pinned
against the North Anna River and
exposed to utter destruction.
As events unfolded, neither scheme
would see fruition, primarily because the
terrain around Trevilian Station was not
suited for mounted combat. Not only was
the station located between two creeks, but
the surrounding countryside was filled with
farmsteads, rolling hills, ridges, thick
undergrowth, and woodlands, all of which
greatly impeded horse and foot movement.
The main thoroughfare in the area, the
Louisa Court House-Gordonsville Road,Q-Spr16 Trevilian Station *SILO_Layout 1 1/14/16 6:06 PM Page 92